Havana
capital and largest city of Cuba
Photo: Christopher Michel, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons, cropped)
- Oct 10
Man charged after hiding 10 live birds in underwear at Miami airport
Alberto Hernandez Castillo, 40, was released on $25,000 bail after federal agents found ten live birds in plastic tubes sewn into his underwear on arrival from Havana.
- Oct 8
US seizes 90 biodiesel shipments bound for Cuba, Havana calls it piracy
US authorities seized 90 biodiesel shipments bound for Cuba on Wednesday, most of them at Port Everglades in Florida, and Havana responded that fuel imports are legal under international law.
- Oct 2
US Coast Guard intercepts fuel cargo ship Grace bound for Cuba in the Caribbean
The US Coast Guard intercepted the 91-meter cargo vessel Grace in Caribbean waters and escorted it to Mexico, enforcing an oil blockade intended to cut off foreign fuel supplies to Cuba.
- Oct 1
Portugal arrests French-Portuguese fugitive convicted of arms trafficking
The Polícia Judiciária detained a 40-year-old French-Portuguese man in Tavira under a European Arrest Warrant for a five-year prison sentence in France.
- Sep 30
United States tightens Cuba sanctions, cutting private sector banking access and travel
New regulations from the US Treasury Department took effect on Wednesday, barring dollar U-turn transactions, freezing US bank accounts of Cuban private entrepreneurs, and restricting educational travel categories.
- Sep 29
Alessandro Di Battista discloses brain tumor surgery in Cuba on live television
Former Italian lawmaker Alessandro Di Battista announced on television that doctors in Havana removed a brain tumor after he fell ill during a reporting trip in August.
- Sep 26
Cuba offers trade and dialogue with US while warning against military action
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez told the United Nations General Assembly that Havana is open to commercial ties with American companies and diplomatic talks, while warning that Cuba will defend itself against any military threat.
- Sep 25
US Army Reserve assesses unit readiness for potential operations directed at Cuba
An internal US Army document obtained by CBS News directs the Army Reserve to assess whether six support formations can deploy to Southern Command within 90 to 120 days.
- Sep 22
Spain's State Attorney appeals suspension of Democratic Memory Law voting rights ahead of 2027 elections
State legal services have asked the Supreme Court to lift a freeze on voting rights for newly naturalized foreign citizens, warning that reviewing 142,739 consular files across 16 offices before the January 2027 electoral deadline is unfeasible.
- Sep 18
Cuba reconnects 14 provinces after nationwide electrical grid collapse
A transmission line breakdown and storm conditions collapsed Cuba's national power grid on Friday, leaving 9.4 million residents without electricity before partial reconnection on Saturday.
- Sep 9
Iceland summons US ambassador after Donald Trump shares map annexing island and neighbours
Iceland summoned the United States ambassador after Donald Trump published a map depicting Iceland, Greenland, Canada, and Mexico under the American flag, prompting international pushback from Reykjavik to Mexico City.
- Sep 6
Alessandro Di Battista discharged from Rome hospital after emergency surgery in Cuba
Former Italian lawmaker Alessandro Di Battista has returned home following emergency surgery in Havana and nearly a week of post-operative care at Rome's Policlinico Gemelli.
- Sep 5
US embassy issues Cuba health alert over rising illnesses and power failures
The US Embassy in Havana issued a health alert on Friday warning of a spike in gastrointestinal infections linked to contaminated water and prolonged power outages caused by fuel shortages.
- Aug 29
Alessandro Di Battista prepares private medical return to Italy after hospitalization in Cuba
Former Five Star Movement lawmaker Alessandro Di Battista is scheduled to return to Rome via private air ambulance on Thursday after collapsing with severe head pain in Cuba.
- Aug 21
Mexican Navy rescues two fishermen found drifting in a cooler five days after boat sank
Two fishermen from Chiapas survived five days adrift without food or fresh water inside an insulated fish cooler before Mexican naval crews located them 240 kilometres offshore.
- Aug 20
US sanctions nine Cuban state entities and ICAP officials as Havana widens private sector rules
The Trump administration designated Cuba's Ministry of Construction, eight state companies, and three ICAP leaders on 20 August 2026, citing foreign subversion networks as the island faces fuel shortages and approves 176 economic reforms.
- Aug 13
Cuba marks Fidel Castro's 100th birthday amid deepening economic crisis and US oil embargo
Cuba commemorated the 100th anniversary of Fidel Castro's birth on August 13 with weeklong events, as the island faces power outages exceeding 20 hours a day and a US oil embargo imposed in January.
- Aug 3
Power restored to western Cuba after partial grid collapse leaves millions in dark
A partial collapse of Cuba's national grid plunged Havana and four other western provinces into darkness Saturday evening, affecting roughly 4.5 million people before power was restored early Sunday.
- Aug 1
Petro, in final Cuba visit, urges US to avoid invasion and open dialogue with Trump and Rubio
Outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro used his last official trip to Havana to call for international solidarity with Cuba and propose direct talks between Washington and Havana, as his successor prepares to sever diplomatic ties.
- Jul 22
U.S. sends first 18-tonne aid flight to Cuba under $100m Rubio pledge, targeting 700 families via church channels
The flight departed Miami on 21 July 2026 carrying rice, beans, oil, hygiene kits and flashlights, the opening delivery of a $100 million commitment by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that will eventually reach 196,000 families.
